Moments Ago:
TNA Runs a House Show. How will this affect my beloved Ring of Honor?
Fans for years have been saying that competition is necessary for quality wrestling programs. Some of the most innovative storylines in recent years were born out of the proverbial Monday Night Wars. Competition appears to be rising again for the WWE in the form of Total Non-stop Action. Of course unless you have been ignoring the wrestling world for the past 18 months or so, you already know this. Jeff Jarrett, Dixie Carter, and Panda Energy’s run at the wrestling thrown is taking the next step as TNA takes their show on the road exposing audiences to their stellar product live and in person. You don’t even have to live in Florida anymore.
TNA has been growing in popularity and quality ever since its move to Spike TV last year. This success is due in no small part to the talent frequently seen in my favorite wrestling promotion, Ring of Honor. Stars like Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels made their name largely in part to their work in Ring of Honor, as it was one of the highest profile gigs in Chris Daniels’ illustrious and the first time fans outside of Southern California got wind of the Samoan Chopping/Suplex/Submission machine. Some of the up and coming names in TNA have already established themselves in Ring of Honor including Austin Aries, Alex Shelley, Roderick Strong, and recent TNA signees Jay Lethal and Homicide.
The question is though, what effect will these wrestlers gaining exposure in TNA have on Philadelphia’s independent wrestling powerhouse. Is it the beginning of the end of Ring of Honor? Absolutely not. Is it the end of Ring of Honor as we know it? The answer could very well be yes.
The rise of TNA will eventually change the landscape of Ring of Honor. As TNA grows in size in its current trend it will do so standing on the shoulder of Ring of Honor. One house show is not a death knell in Ring of Honor. TNA’s current plan is encouraging local promoters to foot a portion of the bill so TNA does not bear the full brunt if it fails to draw. Should TNA succeed, though, they will start running more house shows and thus get in the way of the time that shared stars can work in RoH. Total Non-stop Action has the potential to pay its workers more, and since money makes the world go ’round the wrestlers will take the work in TNA over Ring of Honor. This is unfortunate for RoH fans, but a necessary evil if these talented wrestlers hope to “make it” in the business.
Let’s take a look at the worst case scenario for a moment, shall we. Let’s say the upcoming Detroit house show is a huge success and TNA starts running regular house shows. This leads to TNA issuing exclusive contracts and as a result AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Chris Daniels, Austin Aries, Alex Shelley, Roderick Strong, Jay Lethal and Homicide leave for “greener pastures.” Can Ring of Honor survive? They have overcome adversity before. After the unpleasantness of 2004, TNA pulled Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles and a few others of the shows. Ring of Honor responded by making new stars out of Alex Shelley, Roderick Strong, Jack Evans and Austin Aries, three of whom are current up and comers in TNA. Ring of Honor booker Gabe Sapolsky even said in an interview with WHRW’s Wrestle Radio that he turned a negative into a huge positive and Ring of Honor avoided becoming stale by producing the same albeit great matches, and created a whole batch of new stars.
It is my sincere hope, and firm belief that Ring of Honor could overcome this. They have many top stars not involved with TNA including Jimmy Rave, Colt Cabana, Low Ki, Ring of Honor Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness, and Ring of Honor world Champion American Dragon Brian Danielson. Ring of Honor is also in the process of building new stars like Claudio Castagnoli, Sal Rinauro, Milano Collectiom AT, Adam Pearce, and Matt Sydal advocating long time loyal workers like BJ Whitmer, Jimmy Jacobs, Azriel, Ricky Reyes, and others. There may be a bit of a down time while RoH rebuilds itself, but the future would still be bright.
Luckily, this scenario is not reality yet. It is not beyond the realm of possibility though. Ring of Honor will be the gold standard of independent wrestling for as long as it wants to. It has established itself as the proving ground for great wrestlers from across the country and the world. It remains to be seen what will happen in the end.
If you have any questions and comments you can e-mail me at bigandymac@yahoo.com
I’ll see you next time.
